


Carry On Countdown 2019

by black_tea_blue_pens



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Angst, Asexuality Spectrum, F/F, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Memes, One Shot Collection, Other, Seven Days AU, non magical au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 16,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21557230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/black_tea_blue_pens/pseuds/black_tea_blue_pens
Summary: So... I skipped last year, so I was obviously going to try to complete it. I have some things to say, so I'll write them all down here.1. I have already written most of them. That doesn't mean that they are better written or organized, but it does mean that there are less possibilities of skipping I guess.2. I have not written all the trigger warnings, characters, etc. I will actualize that as I post because that's easy for me.3. These are not beta-read. The reason is that exams season is about to start and my usual beta-readers are students and I don't want to add the pressure of beta-reading somehting that would take so long. I tried to find someone else but that sort of backfired, so I'm alone in this one. Please deal with my amateurish English and my lack of ability to discern between British and American.4. I'm changing around a bit the order of the prompts. That's because there are two AUs I have written throughout several days, but the prompts' chronology didn't fit the AUs' so I'll fix that.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 10
Kudos: 40
Collections: Carry On Countdown 2019





	1. Sun and Moon

**Author's Note:**

> So... I skipped last year, so I was obviously going to try to complete it. I have some things to say, so I'll write them all down here.  
> 1\. I have already written most of them. That doesn't mean that they are better written or organized, but it does mean that there are less possibilities of skipping I guess.  
> 2\. I have not written all the trigger warnings, characters, etc. I will actualize that as I post because that's easy for me.  
> 3\. These are not beta-read. The reason is that exams season is about to start and my usual beta-readers are students and I don't want to add the pressure of beta-reading somehting that would take so long. I tried to find someone else but that sort of backfired, so I'm alone in this one. Please deal with my amateurish English and my lack of ability to discern between British and American.  
> 4\. I'm changing around a bit the order of the prompts. That's because there are two AUs I have written throughout several days, but the prompts' chronology didn't fit the AUs' so I'll fix that.

Baz is laying next to me, head up looking at the Moon. I wonder what he sees in her. She’s bright and clear, people like her. She makes her best to brighten the World in its darkest hours, but she never manages to fully clear that darkness. Yet everyone look up to her. When she’s not there, nothing bad really happens but she’s deemed essential.

I’m just like her. I’m deemed essential. I was predicted, there’s a prophecy about me. But look at me, not really fulfilling it, not really brightening the World. I only shine because of the light others shed on me. The Mage, the Prophecy, Baz. And still, Baz likes me, he looks at me as if I were something beautiful, just like he’s looking at the Moon right now.

There’s no brightness in me, I’m a new moon right now. Any glimmer that might be left is Baz’s anyways, he’s the only one keeping me alive, I have no World to save, I never had in the first place. I’m less than the Moon, I’m dispensable.

Baz, however, shines on his own merits. He’s dazzled me since our Watford days, even as he tried to feed me to a chimera or throw me down the stairs. He has a future, he will shine for millennia and everyone will look up to him the way they do now. He’s powerful, he’s bright, he makes me more than a bunch of rocks put together.

If he leaves, I will be exactly that. A bunch of rocks put together. With two wings.

And a tail.

But he turns to me and he smiles and he looks at me as if I were the moon, as if I made the tides and the waves and the eclipses.

As if I shone.

Does the Moon feel like this when the Sun looks at her?


	2. Role Swap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second part for https://archiveofourown.org/works/12822066/chapters/30183210

**SIMON**

I’ve been walking around the forest surrounding the house for the last few hours. Or for the last ten minutes. Truth to be told, I already knew Baz was this posh rich kid but not that much. I’ve walked for so long! (probably not a straight line but even so) and there’s no fence, no mark or sign. This is still their property.

But now, something is starting to feel wrong with my body. I’m thirsty. It’s not the sort of thirst I’m used to, but something deeper I feel drying my throat all the way down my stomach and nubilating my senses. I can’t think straight, I feel foggy. Maybe I walked for too long. But that doesn’t make sense because I’m not tired.

_ Blood. _

I keep walking around as the thought becomes stronger and clearer in my head, heavy, intrusive. The thirst, the  _ hunger _ is all I can think about, and I can only think of one place where I could calm it.

I turn around and start walking to the house, still not sure what for, my mind too obsessed, too thirsty to put this urge into words. Something in the back of my head is telling me to stop, but it is so easy to ignore I don’t have to even try.

And yet…

Something attracts my attention, a smell. The smell of something alive, close, easy. Not human.

I run towards it, a roe deer, and at some point, I stop thinking. 

When I regain consciousness, I have sucked it dry and I’m sitting next to its corpse. I don’t feel remorse, just disgust in a way. The smell is terrible. Do I burn it? Bury it? I might leave it here for Baz to deal with when this switch thing is over.

Baz.

Is this what Baz has to deal with every day? It looks like a miracle that he hasn’t sucked me dry just yet. I would have, long ago. I admire him right now but this feeling will probably disappear when he tries to kill me again.

I return to the house and go straight to my room. I find Baz’s father on the way. He looks at me and says:

“Go shower.”

I look down and realize I’m stained with blood all over. Baz would never end up like this after a… Fight? Hunt? Baz would never end up like this, period.

I head to my bedroom to take a shower. I dress up with clean clothes (I try to look for something I won’t feel guilty staining again, but there’s literally nothing. All of this looks expensive and Baz looks so handsome on these).

Then someone knocks and I open the door.

“Baz, let’s play Scrabble!” It’s his younger sister, the one with a name almost as long and stilted as his.

“Fine! Come in.”

Her eyes become wide open with incredulity, I’m not sure if with the acceptance or the offering. Probably both. I can’t imagine Baz playing Scrabble with his little sister. But then again, I couldn’t really imagine him sucking dry any kind of animal in the forest, yet it’s clear that he does. He’s full of surprises. 

We spend the morning playing Scrabble. I find it funny. She’s good at it and I’m bad at words so there’s a solid tie but she ends up winning two out of the three games we play before lunch.

**BAZ**

Sucks to be Simon.

Magic is tickling my fingers. I didn’t know it could be possible, but here I am. I need to spell the hell out of my body, it’s too much, I feel it for the first time in my life. I  _ feel the Magic in my body _ . It’s everywhere, it’s intense, it wants to get out. I feel like if I spell even the slightest  **Open Sesame** , the room will explode along with the whole building.

And yet, I want to cast a spell so bad... 

I’m at his room, on his bed. This is doing nothing for my crush. I stand up and walk around the room, distressed in a way. I go to the bathroom but it’s worse in there because I have to confront Simon’s reflection.

My reflection.

Is it weird that I’m happy because I can stare at my crush without feeling that I’m betraying my whole family and my ancestors?

It is, for sure.

But these spells wear off fast and it’s not like anyone can judge me right now, so before I realize I’m looking in the mirror. And I’m smiling, and Simon is smiling back at me. And it’s not that different from when I look at Simon sleep or when I jack off in the bathroom except the fear that he will wake up or come in and be weirded out is not there, and I don’t have to be ready to put the asshole facade at any moment.

So for just a moment, I allow myself to be a teenager with a crush.

Until someone barges in and I startle and leave the bathroom as naturally as possible.

“Hey Simon! You okay?”

I nod and head back to the room. My roommate is there.

“We’re playing football, want to join?”

I accept gladly. I can’t do bad at that. What’s the worst that could happen?

A burst of magic, that’s the answer.

For me (for mages in general), Magic is like our voice: It’s a part of us and we can choose when to use it. It’s just there for us.

Simon is different. He lives in constant tension with his magic, I’m just noticing that. His magic is not a part of him but rather, he’s a cage for his Magic, and it is constantly pushing for a way out. I feel that if I as much as mumble any pop song, it will flow out with all its might because that’s what it wants to do.

And that’s what it does when I shoot for goal. The ball catches fire and pushes through the net and keeps flying until I lose sight of it in the sky.

So this is what it feels to be Simon bloody Snow, the most powerful Mage on Earth and the most dangerous one as well.

I pity him.

Everybody is looking at me as if I had just broken the net by shooting goal.

Well, that’s exactly what I did. And I can’t think of anything to say for my life.

“A new magic trick I learned from a classmate!” I say with the closest thing I can manage to Snow’s goofy grin.

“That was awesome!” Someone says. I shrug. I fucked up.

Let’s just hope that by the time the Mage realizes, the body swap spell has wore off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof I spent most of today too sleepy to think properly so I forgot to post in the morning (despite having slept for one hour longer than usual). To be honest, I'm not completely sure whether this is what the prompt originally meant but... Enjoy!!


	3. Parental Figures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The third and final part of the body switch fanfic

**SIMON**

Baz’s dad looks angry with him. Me? Him? He tells Baz’s sister to leave the room. I think it’s the blood he saw before. I look down to the floor as he reprimands me about how Mordelia (that’s her name!) isn’t old enough to learn about monsters and blood.

Wait.

Did he just call Monster to his own son?

He did. I feel bad, even if it's just the sort of thing he said in rage. I understand Baz should not, and would not have appeared covered in blood and he’s usually good at this (I’m new to this whole blood sucking thing) but still, monster? He does not deserve this even if it was really him who did it. I chew my cheeks but the fangs appear again and I bleed. I want to cry but I don’t know if Baz does. What’s the point of having a father —an actual, real, biological father— if he thinks of you as a monster?

The woman who must be his stepmom appears.

“Don’t be so harsh, everybody can have a slip. And he’s always been responsible…”

“If a slip costs the life of a family member, you’ll change your mind,” he says. And then he leaves the room.

The woman turns to me.

“Baz, are you okay? What happened?”

_ What would Baz do? _

I look at her and nod once, slowly.

“Yes, it was an accident and it won’t happen again.”

She nods.

And then she hugs me.

That’s a first.

I don’t want her to let go, but eventually she does, and I lay in Baz’s bed, huge and dark and comfortable. I would never want to return to Watford if I could sleep here.

I’m sleepy.

**BAZ**

Luck is not on my side today. It takes time. The whole morning passes by before any sign of The Mage, and lunch is calm. I eat with the other kids. It’s been years since the last time I ate with someone. I keep hiding my mouth with my hand but it’s useless because there are no fangs to hide.

The calm only lasts a short while, and as soon as I go back to Simon’s room, I find the Mage sitting on his bed.

“Simon.”

“Sir?”

“What happened?”

Think fast.

_ What would Simon do? _

Simon is not a fast thinker. Not when he’s not fighting. Not when there are words involved.

“I don’t know, sir. It was an accident.”

“An accident.”

I nod. I pray.

“Be careful, Simon. Remember what I told you about control.”

I nod again. I don’t know what he’s talking about but I can somehow imagine. He leaves.

And that’s it. No goodbye, no kind words. He just dropped his heir for the whole summer in this orphanage instead of letting him stay at Watford and the only thing he has for him are harsh words and a scold after months apart.

Is this the closest to a father figure Simon has?  One more thing to add to the list of things I love about Simon.  His resilience.

I lay on the bed and rise my hand. Tan, covered by moles, nails bitten, blood flowing.

I wonder how Simon deals with this. With him. With me. With everything. I wonder if a day will come when he stops dealing with me and I become…

His friend? His lover?

I don’t think I’m what he needs.

He does need someone at his side. Someone besides Bunce and his girlfriend who doesn’t even seem to like him that way. Someone besides the Mage and his sorry excuse of a parent figure.

Simon needs support.

And by, let’s say, pushing him downstairs I’m not helping him.

I might try to push him downstairs again next semester.

I close my eyes. I’m tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be the *checks her culeta* 13th prompt, and it should be posted on December 7th, but in order to keep some coherence with the fanfics, I will leave it like that. I might delay some others, switch places... It will be a mess (for me) but hopefully for you readers it will be easier. Unless you are following the Countdown by other writers. Anyways, I'm trying my best, please tell me if you like the chapter today!!!


	4. Magical Creatures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally the third chapter...
> 
> WAYWARD SON CONTENT ALERT

Shepard should have known better.

He should have not tried to go down that abandoned well alone, nor should have followed that hidden path he found underneath. He shouldn’t have knocked that door and he definitely shouldn’t have entered when it opened, showing a room with the faintest of lights and a… Creature? In the middle.

But oh well, there he was now.

In front of a demon.

Or a siren.

Or a chimera.

What exactly was it? It looked so… Normal. Like female Normal. No, male Normal.  


“Hi! My name is Shepard!”

They did not answer.

“I came through the well. I uh… I’m sorry if I bargained in. I was curious.”

The creature stood still.

“Can you speak? Is it okay if…?” He took a step forward. They took a step back.

“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you. I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to. Who are you?”  _ What are you _ sounded too rude.

“Don’t come so close,” it said. And it had a human voice. A not-so-female, not-so-male voice. It sounded rusty with lack of use. “Ugh, I hate this.”

“This? Me? I can leave if you want… Are you a woman? You don’t look magic.”

The body shifted, and now it was that of a man.

“Is this better?” They shifted back. “Not you, just… Am I doing it right?”

“Doing what?” Shepard was confused, but he suspected not as much as the creature in front of him.  


“This whole voice thing. You understand me just fine, right?”

“Well, I could do with a little more volume…”

“LIKE THIS?”

“Now you’re just screaming.”

“Sorry,” they said, and now they were speaking in an appropriate tone. “This is a first. I’m… I don’t really have a name, but I’m Magic. Was. I guess? Sorry, this is confusing.”

Shepard looked around. There was nothing.

“Do you need to talk?”

“What are you?” They asked. That was an impact for Shepard. Magical creatures usually noticed Normals at first sight.

“I’m a Normal.”

“Oh,” they said. “Of course you are.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m not, I’m… I shouldn’t be talking to you.”

“There’s no one else,” Shepard said.

“I still don’t know what you’re doing here.”

“Exploring,” Shepard said. “Do you live here?”

They nodded.

“I have not been outside in… A while.”

“How long is a while?”

They shrugged.

“Why?”

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“My grandmother said that against the vice of ask, the virtue of not give.”

“That’s a weird way to talk.”

“She was Mexican,” Shepard said. “And I’m not good with Spanish.”

The creature sat on the floor.

“I’m cursed,” they said after thinking for a while. “I was… Forbidden the use of magic. I can’t use Magic and Magic can’t affect me either.”

“So, like a normal?”

They shot him an annoyed glare. It was turning into a man again. Shepard was not sure they controlled shapeshifting. He was not sure they controlled movement in general, even their voice was still unsteady.

“Normals are the easiest creatures to spell. So gullible, so… Defenseless. Just like me.”

Shepard let out an uneasy laugh.

“And… How exactly do you break that spell?”

“There’s only one way to break me free,” they said. “A kiss.”

“Oh!” Shepard smiled. This was a first. A real life first at least. “A true love kiss?”

“No, that would be too cruel.” They said. “Just a kiss. You wouldn’t want to pass the curse to someone you truly love, right? Besides, the concept of true love is too controversial, and involving it in magic is… Unusual. So just a kiss.”

Shepard let out a relieved smile.

“Well, I can work with that.”

“What?”

“I’ll break it. It’s not like I could use Magic anyways and a shield against Magic would be useful.”

“Are you going to let me kiss you?”

Shepard nodded.

“That’s the closest to Magic I’ll ever have been.”

“Let’s go outside!” They said.

“Now? Already?”

They nodded.

“I can’t risk you changing your opinion.”

Shepard shrugged.

“I trust you.”

Under the Sun, they were even more confusing. They looked like made of sand, yet solid like a rock and so, so fascinating in both of their shapes. They looked Shepard’s age, but he suspected it was a trick of his mind.

They took no time. As soon as they were far enough from any building, they grabbed Shepard’s face and kissed his mouth.

He did feel it, this something in his stomach which he didn’t quite identify, changing.

He was sure the creature was lengthening the kiss more than necessary, although they were not cursed anymore.

Eventually, the creature pulled away and Shepard saw it shapeshifting again to something different, agender, larger, which eventually sat down and stayed still until the process was over.

Shepard was dumbstruck.

“You’re a sphynx,” he said. “I just kissed a sphynx.”

They were pure rock, standing still, tall and majestic and wonderful. Shepard felt her amusement and her gratitude somewhere deep as he walked away, nothing left to do there. He would come back to visit some day, probably. But for now, his head was fixed on a single thought.

“I kissed a sphynx.” He would deal with the curse later on.


	5. Carry On Prequel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU: Before meeting your soulmate, you have one opportunity to save him in one situation by teleporting to them when they summon you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back to the normal order, meaning that this one should be and is the 5th day prompt.

Baz had been eight years old. By that time, he had listened to the story a million times: In the school, at home, with his friends…  _ You can rescue your soulmate. You can be invoked, only once in your life, when they need you and only you can help them.  _ Baz did not quite understand. He did not understand what a soulmate was, nor how he was supposed to rescue anyone. It looked like an important thing: the sort of important thing he would understand when he was older.

That day, when class ended, he was chewing on those stories. A friend of his, a little older than him, claimed that he had rescued his soulmate last week, when she had gotten stuck in a wardrobe, and Baz still did not understand how his friend had gone there, how he had known, how all of that worked.

He crossed the school gate, still lost in his thoughts, and suddenly realized he was somewhere else. Not the wide terrace in front of the school where his dad usually waited. It was a narrow street with red brick buildings and flower pots in the windows. At the end of the street, a group of children were playing and Baz’s first impulse was to run towards them.

Then he saw the kid. He was sitting at the portico of one of the buildings, whose sign above said “orphanage”. His head, covered with bronze curls, was buried in his hands and his shoulders were trembling. He was crying. Baz walked towards him silently, until he raised his head.

“What’s wrong?”

The boy did not answer. Tears kept flowing. Baz, somehow helpless, fell to his knees before him. He wanted him to stop crying. He  _ needed _ him to stop crying. He clumsily hugged him as tightly as he could.

“Don’t cry. Stop crying. Please.”

Little by little, the tears stopped and the blond boy stopped crying.

“Baz!” Daphne’s voice startled him, seemingly coming from nowhere. He checked the other kid again, making sure he was not crying. He searched in his pocket and grabbed a red rubber ball. It was new, his father had given it to him as a present the day before. Without much thought, he put it in the boy’s hand, repeating the words his father had told him the previous days:

“Whenever you feel like crying, bounce it and remember me. You have to be strong.”

Daphne’s voice called him again. Baz glanced one last time at the kid. He was smiling.

“Thank you”.

Baz smiled back, and ran towards Daphne’s voice. Before realizing it, he was at the school grounds, running to his father’s arms.

“What were you doing?”

Baz thought about it for an instant.

“I’m not sure.”

He did not associate it with the soulmate thing, and he was not quite sure who that boy was, but the important thing was that he had stopped crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got inspired for this soulmate AU by a Check Please! fanfic I couldn't find for my life and I'm so sorry about that. I hope you liked it, and if you did please tell me so!!!


	6. Vine/Meme Reference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wayward Son references/spoilers!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm 46 minutes late (for local time) but... Here it is, you're welcome (?) (Not really. I'm not sorry either. It just... Exists now.)


	7. WLW

I’m back to California.

I can’t say I regret having returned to England with Simon, Penny and Baz, because at least I got to see my family. I missed them, but still I had to come back. My life is here and, although I have my wand with me, I still would rather live as a Normal.

Ginger left the apartment and moved with her boyfriend a few months ago, but she looked for a different flatmate for me, I think because she felt bad. She’s American, two years younger than I am and I like her more than I ever did Ginger, more than I did Baz. I don’t think I tag along with her out of convenience and that’s somehow a first.

She’s sitting on the couch right now and I’m cuddling next to her. The TV is on, but it’s been a while since I stopped paying attention. Tomorrow we’ll be heading to a festival. It’s not Burning Lad but it will do. She promised she would go with me next summer. She has dyed her fringe pink and it looks great with her undercut. I’m going to dance until my feet are sore and I’m going to dance with her.

Last week she told me she had never been to Europe, that she wanted to go to Britain, visit Westminster and some Scottish castle I didn’t really know about. I really don’t want to go back. It hasn’t been a year since the last time I was there. Penny and Simon haven’t gotten tired of contacting me (I always ignore Penny’s calls, and from time to time I take Simon’s. He’s always with Baz.) I really want to wait some more, at the very least until I miss London. But if it’s with her, I think I could return. We could even make a stop in Spain. She speaks Spanish because her family is Salvadoreña.

I yawn and grab my phone. She chuckles and offers to switch channels or go to bed. I shake my head. I’m lazy and comfortable. I ignore Penny’s thousands of missed calls and Simon’s last messages and go straight to check the festival stages again.

She’s peeking over my shoulder, commenting every now and then. She wants to go see a hundred artists I don’t know. I leave my phone on the table and turn to her.

“We should go to sleep.”

She nods, stands up and turns the TV off. Right before she disappears in her room, she turns to look at me.

“Can’t wait for tomorrow.” Her voice is cheerful, tired and sweet. I return the smile.

“Me neither.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The World needs more ace characters and Agatha could be one of them.


	8. Endearment Terms

Simon rests his feet on the car’s dashboard, at the wheel’s sides.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Penny is inside the hotel room, sleeping. I found Simon awake at 3AM and offered to go for a drive. We are now in the middle of the desert, watching the stars. I don’t answer. I’m looking at Simon’s face, until he turns his head towards me.

“Is something wrong?” he asks.

“No. I think I just miss spending the night alone with you in the top of a tower.”

“We hated each other.”

“Not really.”

“You wouldn’t even call me by my name!”

“I still don’t, Snow.”

“Call me Simon.”

“No.”

Simon put his feet down and turned to face him.

“It’s not fair. I call you by your name.”

“You… do not, for Crowley’s sake not even my father does.”

“Call me Simon.”

“No.”

I turn to face front and take out the seat belt. He mimics me. The silence is awkward. We’ve spent years sleeping in the same room, not talking to each other and now suddenly the silence is awkward. How did we come to this? Our relationship was supposed to improve.

“I want to turn back time,” I whisper. Simon leans towards me.

“What?”

“I want to turn back time,” I say.

I can’t see Simon’s face, but I hear the infinite sadness in his voice.

“Back to when I was powerful?”

I turn my head to him in hurry and worry. Of course he’d think that, what was I thinking?

“No.”  _ Back to when it was easy to love you, when I knew how to.  _ “It’s not that.”

Simon doesn’t move but I do, towards him, closer.

“Back to this morning.”

“Do you want to fight vampires again?”

“Snow, for Crowley’s sake…” He kisses me.

I forget what I was about to say as Simon’s lips take mine. My words turn into a moan.

When he breaks the kiss I lean in, but I don’t reach him. My thoughts are blurry.

“Call me Simon,” he says. He’s manipulating me with kisses and it’s working. Because he’s Simon bloody Snow, and he gets whatever he wants if he kisses me hard enough.

“Kiss me again Snow,” I say.  _ I’m begging you. Don’t push me away. _

He does, but it’s just a peck.

“Call me Simon.”

I sigh. My pride is on the car floor, in scattered pieces.

“Everybody calls you Simon. No one uses your middle name.”

I can clearly see the moment he understands the meaning behind my words because a wide grin spreads through his face. I just want another kiss. It looked so easy this morning after the fight with the vampires.  _ I promise to be just as hot later, _ I had told him. _ I’ll start fires all the way across the Midwest.  _ Look at me now. I’m sulking and I hate it but Crowley have I missed him.

“You should have told me my middle name makes you feel special.” He leans in and I receive him with my lips parted and my eyes closed. It’s the same sort of kiss he gave me years ago in the forests of my family, the one that saved my life. A slow kiss, a deep kiss. A kiss that makes me realize _oh how touch starved am I_ and how much my happiness is intertwined with his.

Soon enough he’s straddling me and his warm hands are under my shirt and I’m seeking his heat. And I’m putting all I have on preventing his lips from parting with mine.

Without being the one who kisses him because then he’ll push back again.

Love is tricky.

I’m whispering his name, both of them, as he kisses the crave out of me.  _ Simon Snow, you’re so alive _ . He moves to kiss my jaw and my neck and I still don’t dare believe this is real.

He pulls back, I open my eyes. He looks so beautiful under the moonlight, wings spread, skin tan, a melancholy in his face that’s starting to be part of him…

“We’re over,” he says. I must look puzzled, incapable of processing his words. “I’m breaking up with you.”

My ethereal happiness bubble pops and the dream is over.

It was too short.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's what I would call self-indulgence... So, how did this chapter feel? What's Simon even thinking?


	9. Firsts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> second and final part for "endearment terms"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the 29th prompt so the order is messed up again ><

When I finally react, I open the door and push him out of the car, move to the driving seat and turn on the engine. I step on the accelerator until I’m driving through the desert 120 km/h. I see on the rear mirror that Simon is following me by air.

I get to the hotel and leave the car. My face is wet, eyes red and shallow, but I don’t think I’m feeling sad. Rather, I’m angry. At myself.

I open the door to our room and lock myself in the bathroom. I can hear Simon’s steps through the corridor and he slams open the door.

“Baz, why did you?”

Penny and the Normal are waking up and Penny swears at Simon. He ignores her.

“Baz I mean what I said but let me explain!”

Simon punches the bathroom door.

“Baz!”

“I’m sorry!” I scream. He becomes silent.

“I’m sorry,” I say again. I feel weak all of a sudden.

“I really think it’s for the best,” he says.

I open the door.

“Best for who exactly, Simon?”

“You called me Simon,” he says. Because of course he does.

The Normal is telling something to Penny but she shushes him. I don’t know if she does for Simon’s sake or for her own entertainment. Probably both.

“Do you not love me anymore?” I ask before I can stop myself. This is so unlike me. “Is it because of Magic? I could… I could give it up. I’m so sorry if I made you feel like this. I won’t try to kiss you again so please.”

Simon shakes his head.

“You don’t have to. Just look for someone better. Someone whose value doesn’t come from the past.”

I want to slap him.

I do.

I regret it immediately.

“Break up with me tomorrow.” I sound angry. I’m not anymore. I’m disappointed, worried and frustrated. Not angry. “Just stop this bullshit and go to sleep for today.”

Simon nods.

Before I realize, Shephard has moved to the coach. I think it was Penny’s doing. I lay down on the bed and Simon lays next to me. I turn away from him, but he hugs me. He will know if I cry. I do anyways. I don’t have any strength left at this point, and it shows. I’m needy and weak and I just want him to hug me and kiss me and rock me to sleep and ask for my forgiveness because of what he just said.

I turn around.

“Do you really want to break up? Do you really not like me anymore?”

He shakes his head.

“Can I hug you?”

He shakes his head again. He moves closer to me until he’s the one hugging me, his head on my neck. His curls tickle my neck. Everything goes back to silence.

I press a kiss on his head, this much I am allowed. I think. The Normal says something outloud and Simon covers us with his wings.

“Simon,” I whisper. “My love, my life. Please don’t scare me like this ever again. I don’t deserve and I don’t want anyone else but you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I love you.”

He snores lightly. I smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *goes on cheesy mode* *fails at it*


	10. Side Characters

Most of the time I miss Shepard. The other part, he’s here. I don’t think I have ever been bored before meeting him but I’ve been alive for longer than I can recall.

People never mind me. THey admire me from time to time, throw stuff, all those things humans do.

Shephard didn’t. He appeared, some time ago, with his backpack and sat down next to me and talked. It took me a while to realize he wa talking to me, but when I did, I answered -I don’t like meddling in other people’s conversations-.

He looked at me, surprised. He was talking about how he had helped this sphynx be released from a spell but she had not talked to him to him ever again. I told him he could not expect that from a sphynx. Sphynxes didn’t befriend, and if that one did, it was probably a side effect of the spell. It was not in their nature.

He then made a lot of questions: My name, my age, and many specificities about the nature of my existence. I could not answer most of them but it was fu. He was not behaving like other human beings and I think it was then when I realized my life had been boring so far.

River spirits are not supposed to be friends with humans, but this is the best thing that has ever happened to me.


	11. Angst Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU: You see in black and white until you meet your soulmate, then you can see him in color, but until you acknowledge them (mutually), you don’t see the whole world in color.

**SIMON**

The world is made of shades.

That’s something many people believe, especially young people: kids and teenagers, but not only them and not always them.

I am one of those people.

I have heard many people describe colors in so many different ways: “It is like when you touch different things. Different textures, but with the eyes.” “It is as if every shade of gray was seen under a different sun” and so on and on. I have never really understood. I keep looking around, waiting to see something, know something. Only one thing I am sure of, because the orphanage lady told me. Because the Mage told me. Because Baz told me: “You will know when you see it”. And so I hope, but I am still waiting, and I still do not know.

Once, I thought I knew. It had been one of those evenings in the dorm, lying on my bed, tired, resting from fighting a troll that had trespassed the school land. Baz, of course, had been the one: It is always Baz, whenever I felt confused or bad or uncertain. I looked at him as he left the toilet after showering. Baz’s lips had a flash of something. I was not quite sure what, and it was such a short time until Baz turned around, that I’m not even sure if it was real. When I looked again, Baz’s hair was black, his eyes were grey and his skin was white. His lips… They were somehow chapped, not as much as they usually were, and there indeed was something weird about them. But there had always been something weird about Baz’s lips so I did not think too much about it.

Penny said I had an obsession.

**BAZ**

I have known what colors are since I was eleven years old. I don’t know what those colors are, or what they are named. I don’t even have words to describe them.

I could go for feelings, though.

His hair is the color of beauty, carelessness, clumsy magic and danger.

His eyes are determination. Simon is determined to keep going, to protect as many people as needed, to not let his duty prevent him from enjoying magic and school.

Simon’s skin is life. The adrenaline of being alive, the beating of a heart, the warmth of a human body. It is not even a single color, it is a thousand different shades, from summer to winter, his moles, his lips, his cheeks when he comes back after a fight, colored with exhaustion and tension.

I have spent entire nights looking at those colors.

But now I cannot look at him. I don’t want to. I want to run away, hide in a colorless place, living a colorless life, away from vampires, away from the Mage, away from Simon. This way I will not be harmed, and he will be safe and I won’t see that worried face ever again.

I think I’m crying.

I’m hungry.

The car catches more and more speed, powered by magic. We arrive at the forest near my house, and I abandon the car.

**SIMON**

Baz pulls off the road suddenly and hits the brakes, fishtailing halfway into a ditch, then gets out of the car like he’s just parallel-parked it, and walks towards the trees.

I open my door and start to follow him, then go back to turn off the car and grab the keys. I run along his footprints in the snow, past the tree line, until I lose his trail in the darkness.

“Baz!” I shout. “Baz!”

I keep moving, nearly tripping on a branch. Then I do trip. “Baz!” I see a blaze of light—fire—ahead of me, deeper in the trees.

“Fuck off, Snow!” I hear him yell.

I run towards the light and his voice. “Baz?”

There’s another shot of fire. It catches on a branch and takes hold—illuminating Baz, sitting under the tree, his head in his arms.

“What are you doing?” I say. “Put it out.”

He doesn’t answer me. He’s shaking.

“Baz, it’s all right. We’ll just get the name from someone else. This isn’t over. We’re going to do what your mother asked us to.”

He swings his wand and practically howls, spraying fire all around us. “This is what my mother would want for me, you idiot.”

I drop to my knees in front of him. “What are you even talking about?”

He sneers at me, baring his teeth—all of them. His canines are as sharp as a wolf’s. “My mother died killing vampires,” he says. “And when they bit her, she killed herself. It’s the last thing she did. If she knew what I am … She would never have let me live.”

“That’s not true,” I say. “She loved you. She called you her ‘rosebud boy’.”

“She loved what I was!” he shouts. “I’m not that boy anymore. I’m one of them now.”

“You’re not.”

“Haven’t you been trying to prove I’m a monster since we were kids? Crowley, you have your proof now. Go tell the Mage—tell everyone you were right!” His face is dancing with firelight. I feel the heat at my back. “I’m a vampire, Snow! Are you happy?”

“You’re not,” I say, and I don’t know why I say it, and I don’t know why I’m crying all of a sudden.

Baz looks surprised. And irritated. “What?”

“You’ve never even bitten anyone,” I say.

“Fuck. Off.”

“No!”

He drops his head in his arms again. “Seriously. Go. This fire isn’t for you.”

I grab his wrists and pull. “That’s right,” I say, “it can’t be. You always said you’d make sure there was an audience when you finished me off.” I pull on him. “Come on.”

Baz doesn’t fight me, just slumps forward. A cloud of sparks settles near him, and I growl at them, blowing them out.

I lift up his chin. “Baz.”

“Go away, Snow.”

“You’re not a monster,” I say. His face is cold as a corpse in my hand. “I was wrong. All those years. You’re a bully. And a snob. And a complete arsehole. But you’re not one of them.”

Baz tries to jerk his face away, but I hold it fast. He opens his eyes, and they’re pools of pain. I can’t stand it. I growl again. The fire blows back.

“This is what I deserve,” he says.

I shake my head. “Well, it isn’t what I deserve.”

“Then go.”

I see the fire flickering in his eyes, which means it must be all around us.

“I won’t,” I say. “I’ve never turned my back on you. And I’m not starting now.”

**BAZ**

That’s it. I’m going to have to spell this imbecile away from me. My last deed will be to save Simon Snow’s life, and my whole family will be ashamed.

He’s holding on to my face, expecting me to stay alive just because he’s told me to—because he’s Simon bloody Snow, the only colorful person in the world, and he gets whatever he wants if he growls loud enough.

I think I might kiss him before I send him flying.

(Can I get him away from me without breaking any of his bones? What spell will keep him away, so he doesn’t come running back into the fire?)

I think I might kiss him. He’s right here. And his lips are hanging open (mouth breather) and his eyes are alive, alive, alive.

You’re so alive, Simon Snow.

You got my share of it.

He shakes his head, and he’s saying something, and I think I might kiss him.

Because I’ve never kissed anyone before. (I was afraid I might bite.) And I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone but him. (I won’t bite. I won’t hurt him.)

I just want to kiss him, then go.

“Simon…,” I say.

And then he kisses me.

**SIMON**

I am still not sure what I’m doing, still not sure what’s happening, when everything around me changes.

I kiss Baz and he softens, and he keeps crying, so I keep kissing him as in the corner of my eyes the world changes. That same thing I saw in his lips is now all around him, reflecting in his eyes, eating everything. Suddenly the fire is more aggressive, as all of it acquires a different shade, one that i have never seen before. Colors.

Right next to me, Baz is looking at the fire as well, with wonder and curiosity. For a moment, none of us seems able to react as we look around us and I realize. Of course it’s Baz. It was Baz all this time.

**BAZ**

So this is what the world looks like after kissing Simon Snow. It has surpassed all of my expectations.

**SIMON**

Baz’s expression changes. He grabs my shoulder and pulls me into a kiss again.

**BAZ**

Is this is a good kiss? I don’t know.

Snow’s mouth is hot. Everything is hot.

He’s pushing me, so I push back.

His cross is rattling in my tongue and jaw. His pulse is beating in my throat. And his mouth is killing everything I’m trying to think.

Simon Snow.

**SIMON**

Baz’s mouth is colder than Agatha’s.

Because he’s a boy, I think, and then: No, because he’s a monster.

He’s not a monster. He’s just a villain.

He’s not a villain. He’s just a boy.

I’m kissing a boy.

I’m kissing Baz.

He’s so cold, and the world is so hot.

**BAZ**

I am going to die kissing Simon Snow.

Aleister Crowley, I’m living a charmed life.

**SIMON**

If Baz thinks I’m ever letting him go, he’s wrong. I like him like this. Under my thumb. Under my hands. Not off plotting and scheming and talking to vampires.

 _I’ve got you now_ , I think. _I’ve finally got you where I want you._

**BAZ**

Snow has done this before.

He’s doing this nice thing with his chin. Moving it up and down. Tilting his head. Pushing me back even farther.

I don’t try to mimic him. I just let him go.

I’m going to die kissing Simon Snow.…

**SIMON**

Baz grabs my shoulders and pushes me off him.

It only works because I’m not expecting it.

He pulls his wand at me, and shouts. 

**“Back off** !” I’m pushed back and fall, just enough to be safe by the forest. I wait for Baz to run here, but he casts another spell instead. “ **U can’t touch this**!”

“Fuck” I say. As I run towards him (or try to, since I can’t right now), I see Baz cast even more fire around him. A fire even wider, more scary, more powerful because its color is consuming all the others around, circling Baz. I take the wand out and try to think of a spell, of anything, but I’m blocked.

The fire reaches Baz, and I see it catch his school uniform, and then his skin, and suddenly he’s burning like a torch and I can do nothing.

I feel the barrier he casted disappear, and run towards him, but it is late. It’s too late, and the world is made of shades again.

There is nothing left of Baz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting while watching Dominic Noble's new video so... yeah, probably not the best proof read.


	12. Pattern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the beginning of a Hadestown-ish AU which will last the next 4 prompts.

It was a cycle. A circle that repeated itself over and over again, in a neverending story that would never quite have a happy ending, regardless of what their thoughts were on the matter.

It was Baz’s fate, like Eurydice’s before him, like Hades’ before her. No one could escape hell.

Maybe it was the sadness of that thought that lead him to seek shelter in music, not with a lyre or with a guitar but with a violin. An instrument infinitely more dramatic, or so his father said.

It didn’t matter. At the end of the day, the violin soothed his heart and calmed his fears, and that was the only thing Baz wanted: to forget his destiny, deemed tragic by the Fates but as blurry as anyone else’s around him.

Only more hopeless.

He was happy, most of the time. A careless child, he liked to play around, peach juice and robots. Just like any other child. Only from time to time, a fog of worry and gloom would surround him, making him sink in a silence only music could take him away from.

By fourteen, he met his Fate.

He was a boy, sort of unexpected. It had never been like this. For Eurydice, it was Orpheus, for Hades, it was Persephone.

A person of his same sex could not be the one who carried his destiny and yet there he was. Cheerful, tan, blue eyed and skinny, he looked lost, as if he shouldn’t be there.

Baz buffed, but accepted it quietly, as he had done with his destiny ever since he could remember.

When Simon Snow approached him, he hugged his violin tight and didn’t answer his greet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be the December 3rd prompt. I'm sure I've completely messed the order of the prompts so at this point I'll just keep posting one prompt a day in a way that's convenient for me.


	13. Pastel/Punk AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the Hadestownish AU

Simon’s first impression of Baz was… Dark. Baz attempted actively to look dark. His high black boots, black leather trousers, black mittens, black band t-shirt and black jacket didn’t help. Was that a half-moon earring? At the orphanage, earrings were forbidden. They didn’t do any favour to his extremely pale face and his even darker hair, pushed back in contrast. The instrument case (was that a violin? a flute?) looked out of place too.

He was clueless when it came to future. The Mage had told him that he was expected to do great things. He didn’t understand what homeschooling had to do with that, but he didn’t ask. He had never asked and was not going to start now. Instead, he followed the Mage to the school so he could incorporate in fourth grade, in order to “meet his destiny”. It was an expression the Mage used very often, and Simon had wondered about its meaning, he had researched but everything he had come up with was about mythology, fiction and literature.

When he found that dark boy in front of him, the thought crossed his mind,  _ this is my fate _ , but it was discarded in favour of noting Baz’s coldness.

Simon liked him almost immediately.

Baz’s Fate was way softer than he had expected him.

Everything was soft about him: his still childish face features covered by freckles, the colors in his clothes —baby blue, cherry pink—, his fluffy undercut hair full of curls Baz wanted to sink his fingers in, the tan of his skin, the pulse beating under his skin, his goofy smile which seemed to scream  _ please like me _ . Baz was not quite sure if he did. He was supposed to, he did not want to. He was fourteen, a vampire and feared the future in a way no teen should, yet there he was, struck by love at first sight for a thin boy who stumbled with words.

His tragic, tragic past would come by a person who made Baz want to be hugged until dawn.

It did not seem fair.

Simon opened his mouth, and Baz guessed he was going to offer to go together to their room.

“Let’s go home,” he said instead. Something inside Baz melted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was not sure what to do with this prompt so I just began writing... I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless!


	14. Fandom crossover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3/4 of the Hadestown-ish AU. Crossover with Yuri!!! on Ice

Baz arrived at the Hades nervous and tired. It had been days of traveling, by feet and by boat, he had hardly slept. He didn’t think being dead would feel so… So everything. Death was supposed to be final peace, but it did not feel like that at all.

He was walking alone through a corridor. It did not feel underground. Everything was stone and glass, but it reflected a light that came from nowhere and allowed him to see everything. At the end of the corridor, a door. Tall, overdressed and dark. Intimidating if Baz were in the mood for that.

He touched it and it opened towards the inside of the room.

It was a tall room, two thrones in the middle. One of them was empty, the other one had a man on it.

He was dressed in black and metal, matching his hair which spread around him and onto the floor, long and silvery. Rather than sitting, he was lounging, legs over one of the armrest and head resting on one arm. His clear blue eyes, lost at some point of the ceiling, moved to look at Baz as he walked in.

“Who are you?”

“Baz. You?”

The man shifted positions, properly sitting.

“My name is Victor, I’m the Lord of the Hades.”

“So I am dead.”

Victor shook his head.

“You are not. Your case is special. You are here for an exchange.”

“Exchange for what?”

“To end the Humdrum.”

“That makes no sense. Wasn’t Simon supposed to do that?”

“Well, yes, and no. It’s the other Gods’ thing. Your father-in-law messed with them and they wanted to be paid. I think my spouse could answer more clearly, he’s more in touch with the World.”

Baz nodded.

“You’re free to walk around,” Victor said.

Baz left the room without a word. He was still trying to figure all of that out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to post this before, but I've spent most of the day stuck to my bed sick. It was supposed to be longer, but... Again, I couldn't do it on time, sorry.


	15. Song/Music Inspired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last part of the AU, inspired on Wait For Me/Doubt Comes In

It wasn’t about Baz’s trust. It had never been. Baz trusted Simon, of course he did. Destiny was unavoidable and Simon was his. What he had doubts about was whether Simon trusted him. Simon  _ loved _ him. But trust was a different thing.

Baz was walking behind him, he had been walking behind him for five days now, and he was tired, hungry and cold. The worst part had been avoiding the urge to reach for Simon’s hand, just a few steps away from him, leading him, not looking back. Baz had seen him getting nervous. He had heard him calling for Baz, talking to himself in hope that Baz was behind him, listening, and Baz had answered but Simon didn’t hear because that was what the deal was about. It had been five days, almost enough to drive him mad. He had never gone so long without holding Simon’s hand, without looking in his eyes, ever since the first time they met.

But he finally could see the end. He could see the light in front of him. He could feel the warmth of the Sun, so close, just a few more steps. Just a few more steps and they could return to their room in the tower, cuddle next to each other, go back to how things should have been if Destiny and Death had not played around with them.

_ So this is hope, _ Baz thought. It was a first.

His destiny was tragic, but he had lived tragically enough until now right? This was the end of it. There was no reason not to hope, since the end was right there. Just a few more minutes, just a few more steps and everything would be over. Right? Not even the Gods were as cruel as to break this for him.

Right?

The Sun was already touching Simon’s skin. His curls were starting to shine gold from the light at the end of the road, just a few more steps, a few more steps and Baz would be free to love Simon without the fear of him bringing his doom.

And then Simon stopped. Baz almost bumped into him.

“Simon, what are you doing? Keep walking.”

Oh right, he couldn’t hear.

Baz’s stomach sank as he saw Simon turn around, his blue eyes almost dark from the lack of light as he looked at Baz in surprise.

“It’s you,” Simon said. Baz nodded in disbelief.

“It’s me.”

_ Not anymore. _

Baz saw the silver and the black as he was pulled back inside, back down, back to the Hades, back to Destiny.

Tragedies didn’t get happy endings.

So this was his punishment for daring to hope.

He found himself back in front of the Lord of the Hades in all his might, as next to him his spouse didn’t dare look Baz in the eyes. They were holding hands. That was new.

“What do you want me for?” Asked Baz.

“A deal is a deal,” answered Yuuri in Victor’s behalf. “And Gods cannot break the deal, even if…” he looked at Victor. “Even if they were made in a tantrum. If I dare say… It’s not so bad down here, and eventually you’ll meet him again.”

“I’m not dead,” Baz said.

“Your time is still running.”

“That’s a meager solace.”

“I’m sorry.” Said Victor. Baz looked straight at him. What was the king of the Underworld asking forgiveness to a mortal for?

“It’s fine. This was supposed to happen.”

Yuuri sighed. Baz could see that he felt bad about all this issue, even if it was not his fault. Not entirely at least.

“If you need anything, please let us know. You will have some tasks here, but otherwise I want you to live as peacefully as possible.”

“What’s the point without Simon?”

Yuuri didn’t answer.


	16. What If...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU: You see in black and white until you meet your soulmate, then you can see him in color, but until you acknowledge them (mutually), you don’t see the whole world in color.

The world is black and white.

That’s something many people believe, especially young people: kids and teenagers, but not only them and not always them.

Simon was one of those teenagers.

He had heard many people describe colors in so many different ways: “It is like when you touch different things. Different textures, but with the eyes.” “It is as if every shade of gray was seen under a different sun” and so on and on. He had never really understood. He kept looking around him, waiting to see something, know something. Only one thing he was sure of, because the orphanage lady had told him. Because the Mage had told him. Because Baz had told him: “You will know when you see it”. And so he hoped.

But he still was waiting, and he still did not know. One day, he thought he had known. It had been one of those evenings he was spending in the room, lying on his bed, tired, resting from fighting a troll that had trespassed the school land. Baz, of course, had been the one: It was always Baz, whenever he felt confused or bad or uncertain. Baz’s lips had a flash of something. He was not quite sure what, and it was such a short time until Baz turned around, that he was not even sure whether he had been right. When he looked again, Baz’s hair was black, his eyes were grey and his skin was white. His lips… They were somehow chapped, not as much as always, and there indeed was something weird about them. But there had always been something weird about Baz’s lips and he did not think too much about it.

Penny said he was obsessed.

**BAZ**

I have known what colors are since I was eleven years old. I don’t know what those colors are, or what they are named. I don’t even have words to describe them.

I could go for feelings, though.

His hair is the color of beauty, carelessness, clumsy magic and danger.

His eyes are determination. Simon is determined to keep going, to protect as many people as needed, to not let his duty prevent him from enjoying magic and school.

Simon’s skin is life. The adrenaline of being alive, the beating of a heart, the warmth of a human body. It is not even a single color, it is about the thousand different shades, from summer to winter, his moles, his lips, his cheeks when he comes from fighting, colored with exhaustion and tension.

I could spend the whole day just looking at him.

So that’s exactly what I’m doing, out of the blue, without a good reason. Because we just saved a dragon together and because I can’t make myself walk away from him.

He releases my shoulder and all the tension I have maintained becomes tiredness. It seems like the whole school is looking through the windows.

“Could we blow them away?” I ask bitterly.

“We could just go to our room…”

“You go. I’m too tired for stairs”. I walk towards the first tree of the forest, one large enough to hide me from the rest of the school, and sit with my back against it. Simon sits in front of me. His skin is shining, because of the sweat I guess.

“Thank you” he says.

“For what? I did nothing for you.”

“You saved the dragon.”

His gaze is fixed on my eyes and I wonder once again why is it me the one with a one-sided soulmate. Why Simon doesn’t look at me the way I look at him. Why does he not spend night after night thinking about kissing me the way I do. I don’t care about the dragon.

**SIMON**

There it is again. That thing, I’m not sure what. That shade that looks like magic, like a spell I have not learnt yet, right on Baz’s lips. I think I’m staring, and Baz is staring back.

He sighs, breaks the eye contact, closes his eyes and leans his head on the tree.

“Don’t sweat it. Forget about…” I touch his lips. Just a fast brush with my thumb. Baz opens his eyes, so I just lean towards him. Look at him. At his mouth. Baz sits up. “Let’s try something.”

I nod.

He kisses me. Soft. Short.

“Do you feel something different? See something different?”

I shake my head. “But I like it.”

I kiss him again, caress his cheek as I reach for one of his hands. The other one is on my chest. I close my eyes, come near him. Maybe this is what I saw in his lips. This whole feeling that doesn’t quite fit anything I have experienced before. I don’t want to break apart, and neither seems Baz. He hugs me, so I rest my forehead on his neck. I’m confused.

“Simon” he tries to push me gently away from him. I resist a little.”Simon, seriously.”

I lift my head, wondering if it’s really necessary to break the moment now that I seem to be figuring out everything.

It is.

Colors. Everything has turned colorful. Every single description I have heard is true, and at the same time none reflects reality. I look around: the sky, the trees, the school building. Then back at Baz. His uniform is colorful but he’s still the same.

I look at his lips. So this is what it was. Color.

“So you’re… I’m you…” I can’t think straight.

“Are you telling me you didn’t know?”

“Well, you’re… Mostly grey.”

“Oh, I guess… Oh Crowley.”

“The world’s so beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.” Right after he says that, Baz’s cheeks become colorful. Same color as his lips. I kiss him again.

“We should go back” I say. I stand and pull Baz’s hand. We walk back to the dorm. It’s probably a good idea to release his hand, but I don’t and Baz doesn’t try either.

“Are you disappointed?" Baz asks. “That I’m your soulmate.”

I think about the answer for a moment.

“No. It all makes sense now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo! I posted something on the right date!! This is a soulmate AU I have saved for a long time. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it and if you did, please leave a comment, tell me! It makes me happy and motivates me to keep going uwu


	17. Favourite Trope/Cliché

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *gasps* there was only one bed

As I’m returning to our room from the football practice, I smell the fire from the stairs. I don’t hurry. It’s Simon the one upstairs, there is no need to.

I open the door to our room and find him standing at the door, between me and the room, the guiltiest expression on his face, looking at me.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I was just practicing magic.”

I look behind him. A bed —my bed— is burning.

I take my wand out.

“ **In the November rain** !” I spell. A heavy deluge of water falls on the bed, flooding the floor.

“Clean that” I say, and I leave the room.

* * *

I don’t return until evening. Simon is on his pyjamas, sitting on his bed. The floor is not flooding anymore, but it’s still wet on some patches, and the bed is all black, no sheets, no mattress, just a naked, carbonized metallic structure. He rises his head when I appear and stands up.

“Where are you going to sleep?”

I could dry my bed with another spell.

I just don’t want to.

I take a dry pyjama from the wardrobe and go shower. Then I lay on Simon’s bed, quilt up to my chin despite the heat outside. He stays quiet for a long time, standing there, probably staring. I turn to my side, face to my side of the room, and close my eyes. His smell is surrounding me. It’s warm and comforting but it makes me so tense at the same time, incapable of any sleep.

He starts moving. He fidgets around the room before finally laying down next to me. I hear his breath, I feel the heat of his skin. I smell him everywhere. This was such a bad idea.

I wait. One minute, one hour. Just a moment, an eternity. Simon is everywhere, he’s so close.

I turn around.

Against all my expectations, Simon is facing me, eyes almost closed, still not asleep.

“You smell nice,” he says.

I can’t stand him.

I love him.

“It’s called soap,” I snap. We are ridiculously close, his hair is touching my forehead. I push it back.

“Keep doing that,” he says. “It feels nice.”

His eyes are closed, a soft smile, humming as I massage his scalp with my fingers.

I want to kiss him. I would willingly die in exchange for a kiss right here, right now.

I stand up and walk out of the room. I’ll sleep in the gardens tonight.


	18. Crack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU where Simon is a cameraman and Baz is a boyband member.

“And now… NTR!”

The public of the show roars, some shake lightsticks, the lights fade to a light golden and the band appears at the scene. There are three boys, and Simon has one job: To follow one of them with his camera. He’s somehow nervous, first day in the job, but he can do this. He trusts himself. Sort of.

The music starts, and the boy begins dancing. Simon follows him.

They talked earlier for the first time, because the singer has that “unusual habit” of knowing who everyone in their team is, so he had approached Simon as he was adjusting the camera.  


“Hi, do we know each other? I’m Basilton, lead singer. You can call me Baz.”

“Ah! I… I’m Simon, cameraman. I will be recording you today.”

Baz smiles and it’s a cool smile. It looks more fit to a photoshoot than an introduction. Simon wonders if he can do any other kind.

“My pleasure. I’ll be in your charge.”

Now, as he records, his face feels hot. Everything feels hot. But he cannot stop, he can only stick his face to the camera and keep following the movements of the boy in front of him.

The dancer.

The god.

When they told him the job was not that difficult, he was not expecting it to be this easy, just follow an idol with the camera as he dances. Well, it is easier when you cannot take your eyes away from those eyelashes, those cheekbones.

That face.

Did he just wink looking at him?

No. He was looking at the camera.

And then the song is over and Simon steps back, dizzy, red as a tomato and not quite sure whether he did a good job.

As he opens the door to the break room, still rewinding Baz’s steps in his mind, he finds him, sitting on a bench, sweaty, all the makeup still on, thoughtful.

“What are you doing here?” Simon asks before he can resist. The group was supposed to have their own room, for security. Baz looks up.

_ He’s so pale _ .

“I was waiting.”

“Oh.”

“For you.”

“ _ Oh _ .”

Baz stands up and walks towards him, stops awkwardly close.

“Are you free… At some point this week?”

Simon can see the golden powder on his face and the eyeliner, just enough to highlight his grey eyes without being noticeable and the insanely red lips. And he could swear Baz’s fangs were not as long when he was recording.

He nods. He feels his skin numb and tingly as Baz puts a paper on his hand and leans in, kissing his cheek.

“See you then.”

Baz leaves the room and Simon looks at the paper. It’s a phone number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for this fic was given to me centuries ago by @AoiHerondale. I hope she forgives me.
> 
> Also, I'm really not sure about this one, prompt aside. I need validation please someone tell me this is not as terrible as it looks from my tired and overworked point of view.
> 
> The name of the boyband is a reference to the ideal gas equation but also a very dumb Spanish expression.


	19. Fairy Tale/Myth Retelling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does the red string of fate count as myth?

**BAZ**

Every single person is connected to their soulmate with the red string of fate, the one that starts in the little finger and ends in the other person. Sometimes it is a long, messed thread that seems impossible to untangle. Some others you can clearly see the connection.

As for me, I was born tied to my sworn enemy. Our string is tied around, long, untamed, tangled around all Watford. I can see it, though, as I lie in bed, because it’s mine. It’s Simon’s and mine and it is somehow different from the other ones. I think it has to do with the fact that I know. I didn’t realize in first year, nor in second year. In third year, as it became clear that I liked Simon, it also became clear that I would like him until the day he kills me.

“Baz.”

Simon’s awake. I always wondered how he could sleep after fighting chimeras, dragons, werewolves. I guess he doesn’t.

“Snow.” I answer. Our string is always tense somehow, ironically pulling us apart with all those knots and loops and wraps.

“Do you know who your red string is tied to?”

After a moment of silence, I nod.

“Yes.”

He turns on his bed to face me.

“Who?” He’s surprised and curious. I’m puzzled.

“Why do you want to know that? Will you comfort my widow when you kill me?”

“I’m just curious. You don’t have to be like that. Don’t tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I’ll tell you,” and my voice conveys all my tiredness and my frustration. “But you can’t… You can’t say a word when you find out who it is.”

“O… Okay.”

“Let’s go.” We both get out of bed, and I grab my red string. We leave the room and go down the stairs. I would like to blame sleep deprivation for my actions, but I am a vampire.

We go to the common room. It is tangled in there with other strings but slowly, patiently, we undo the mess and keep going. Down the kitchen, through the catacombs and back up. As we keep going, Simon insists that it is useless, that he has tried, that until Fate says so, you cannot meet your soulmate. He doesn’t seem to realize his string is following the same path.

So we are back in front of our dorm room door. Simon puts the hand in the doorknob but he freezes. There are only two strings that slide under the door: Simon’s and mine.

“Open it” I say.

Simon turns to me. “How…?”

“Crowley, open that forsaken door, Snow.”

“You knew it?”

“ **Open the door** .” He does, but not because of my magic.

The string forms an arc, starting on my finger, resting on my bed and then straight to Simon.

“You knew” he doesn’t look angry. He’s surprised, maybe even scared, and there’s something else.

“Baz” he insists. I go straight to my nightstand, and grab a pair of scissors. “What are you doing. No. Baz.  **WAIT** !” I stop, and turn around to face him.

“It doesn’t matter because I can’t cut it, believe me. I’ve tried. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t cut it” he says anyways. He sits at the edge of my bed and takes the scissors from my hands, leaving them on the nightstand again. “Don’t cut it,” he says again. “Why would you do that? It makes no sense.”

“You know what makes no sense? You and I being soulmates. This whole thing makes no sense. Your power makes no sense. Killing each other makes no fucking sense. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sleep.” I throw the blanket on, facing the wall. Simon stands up and I can hear him walk to his bed, but instead of getting in he keeps walking around the room. His steps are unsteady, and I can almost hear the mechanism in his brain trying to process the information. I can feel the string pulling, and for once it’s trying to bring us together. As if.

He comes back to my bed, gets under the blanket and manages to embrace me, searching for my hand. He’s hot and pulsing and the tension from the string is released. Something inside me feels eased too. I’m still struggling about pushing him away when he says “don’t cut it tonight.” I take a deep, useless breath. The string looks different tonight: brighter, newer. I’m still unable of thinking of a plausible scenario where this string makes sense but for once, I want to just listen to him.

I won’t cut the string tonight.


	20. Missing/deleted scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WAYWARD SON SPOILER!!!  
> This scene takes place at the end of Wayward Son.

“Simon…” I whisper.

I wait for him to  _ get  _ it. To finally give to it.

Or maybe to say I’ve passed the test.

Instead he shakes his head. “Baz…” His voice is barely there.

I wait for him to keep talking.

For an eternity, he doesn’t.

I should give up.

I’m thinking of standing up and going back inside, I don’t have the heart nor the energy to deal with this right now. Not here.

I move.

Simon holds my hand.

“Wait. Baz. I…” I stay still, waiting, scared. “I’m sorry,” he says. I wasn’t expecting that, but coming from Simon, it doesn’t surprise me either. I wait.

“I’m sorry I turned into this.”

_ This what, Simon? _

He keeps going without me asking.

“Sorry that I’ve become unreliable and I have no power and it seems I’m only in a good mood when I’m fighting, and I’m sorry I can’t seem to let you kiss me properly although I want, I really want. I’m sorry that I’m such a disappointment as a boyfriend.”

I squeeze his hand and keep quiet, waiting for him to continue.

He doesn’t.

“Simon,” and it sounds sad, and desperate. A tired sigh but also a plea.

“Don’t…” He pauses before going on. “Wait until we get to London. Please. Let me have this.”

It takes me an extra moment to understand the meaning of his words, and it hits me strong.

“You’re not breaking up with me, Snow.” I say. It’s stronger, more imperative than I had planned. He turns to look at me, and his eyes are full with fear. “And I’m not breaking up with you either,” I add. “Unless you want me to.”

“I don’t!” He jumps. Crowley, he’s adorable at times.

“That’s a relief,” I say. “I’m glad we clarified that part.”

He’s staring at me, saying nothing. I want to know what he’s thinking, because this is Simon Snow, and he could be thinking of how he’s still sure I’m some sort of almighty god and he’s unworthy (which is how I felt about him for so many years), or of how he misses tea and scones.

“Kiss me,” he says, cutting my thoughts. For a moment, I think I misheard that, but one of the perks of vampires are enhanced senses. And I’m sure he just asked for a kiss.

I lean in and my lips brush his cheek. Slowly, giving him time to step back. I kiss my way to the corner of his mouth, taking my time, as if it were the first (it’s been so long it might as well be). He waits for me. I kiss his mouth and he kisses back, letting me have my way. I push him on the sand, lay on top of him, and he hugs my hips, and we kiss just as we did that day in my room at my parents’. I pull back for breath and Simon follows my movement, and I’ve missed that so much, the urge, the unwillingness to break apart.

“ **I love you** ,” I say. It’s easy and fast, and the words leave my mouth without a second thought but I mean it, I have never meant anything more than this. And it’s a spell, but a spell that made effect back in fourth grade, when I first realized my life depended on Simon. He’s grinning and I want to kiss that grin away.

I do.

“I love you too,” he answers.

A road trip is definitely not the solution to all my problems, but it’s a good place to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second time in this challenge that the kiss at Baz's room motif appears XD I might or might not be running out of imagination.


	21. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven Days AU: Day 1

**SIMON**

There’s a new boy in my class. He arrived last September, at the beginning of the course, and I have not talked too much to him, but it’s April now and everybody knows him already.

He’s sitting next to me right now, in silence, at the bus stop. This is uncomfortable, because I’m not used to not getting along with people at school.

“You don’t usually take the bus, right Basilton?” I say. Because I can’t stand uncomfortable silences.

He shakes his head.

“My car ran out of gas and I forgot to fill the tank.”

There’s a reason why everyone knows who he is. A very specific one.

“So, who will it be this week?”

He looks at me and frowns.

“Who will be who?”

“Your girlfriend, this week.”

He shrugs and says nothing.

The reason why Basilton is so popular… He’ll say yes to anyone who asks him out. But he’ll turn them down as soon as a week passes. It’s only girls who ask him out, though, and they all leave with a good impression of him. Not the usual for someone who has had a girlfriend per week.

I was talking to Penny about this the other day, she said it was dumb. Agatha though, she went out with him last month. She was talking wonders about that week, saying how going out with him was like a dream or something like that. To be completely honest, it made me curious. She didn’t say those things when she was going out with me.

Which is fine, I’m not jealous.

Just curious.

Really curious.

“If no one’s asked you yet, will you go out with me?” I say before I can think. He turns to look at me for the first time.

The bus stops and I step in without waiting for his answers, ashamed in a way. I sink my hands in my pockets.

There’s nothing.

“Oh no,” I say. “I forgot my wallet.”

Basilton steps in and puts some coins on my hand.

“Thank you,” I say.

“No problem.” He answers.

He sits next to me on the bus.

“What’s your phone number?”

I stare at him.

“Uh?”

“Your number.” He smiles.

“What for…?” and then I realize. “Basilton, are we going out?”

He nods.

“Call me Baz, please.”

I guess my dream week has begun.


	22. Witch/Psychic

**SIMON**

Baz is at the bus stop today again when I arrive.

I stand next to him.

“Did you forget to fill the tank today again?”

He looks at me. He looks serious today. More like he usually is.

“No. I thought I would spend some more time with you.”

I’m confused. We met yesterday.

“Wait, are we… Are we going out?”

**BAZ**

I nod. I already suspected he was not taking this seriously, but asking like this… 

I say nothing. I was not supposed to try with a boy. This was supposed to be about me finding a girl my parents would like. I look at him. He’s smiling at me, and I smile back. He’s cute.

The bus arrives.

“Let’s go.” I step in, and he sits next to me.

“You’re in the soccer team, right?” He asks me.

I turn to him.

“How did you know that?” I started only last week because of an injury at my previous school.

“I’m a psychic,” he jokes. I smile.

“Sure.”

**SIMON**

I stay behind after classes, waiting. From the lab window I can see the soccer field, and they are training today. I can see Baz’s silhouette from here, it’s dark and fast and elegant.

When I see them disappearing into the change rooms, I head downstairs.

I run into him as he leaves, already showered and changed back into his uniform.

“Simon! What are you doing here?”

I shrug.

“Do you have time today?”

“Sure, what for?”

“Let’s go on a date!”

**BAZ**

That’s unexpected. I follow him outside, and he takes me to a frozen yoghurt place. He pays my part and asks me about everything, from soccer practice to the classes I’m taking to the weekly girlfriend thing. He asks me what the rules are, and that’s a first. It’s the first time someone shows me how I’m seen from outside, and I don’t like it, in a way. It’s not a game. I guess it does look like one. I should tell him so, but maybe then he’ll step back and that would be a problem.

He takes me to the cinema after that, but he falls asleep almost immediately. On my shoulder. He’s not wary and tense as most girls have been when we were going out. He still hasn’t tried to take me to bed either, as some others. He’s surprisingly natural. That will make it easier to keep our friendship afterwards, I guess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day two... Same happens every time with this challenge (or at least, the two times I've done it). I begin with lots of energy and motivation but, as exams approach, I lose more and more energy until it feels like an obligation... Send energy plz.


	23. Frost

**SIMON**

I wake up freezing under the sheets. I really don’t want to go to school today.

I groan as I stand up, head to the shower and get dressed. My phone pings, a text from Baz. “Good morning, I had fun yesterday.” Yesterday… Yesterday? Oh, the date. The cinema. I fell asleep during the film and stayed sleepy the whole way home since then.

The temperatures have lowered. When I leave home, a white fog leaves my mouth. The cars are covered by frost.

I find Baz on the bus stop again, standing, shrugging in an attempt to protect himself from the cold.

“Good morning!”

He looks at me and smiles.

“You’re cold,” I say. He nods. His chin is shivering. I hug him and rub his back.

“That’s useless,” he says. “I’m a vampire.”

“Really?” I say. “That’s cool, though.”

“Not really, but I’m always cold.”

“You could have come by car today.”

He shakes his head.

“I’d rather do it this way.”

At the bus he’s still trembling, but it calms down little by little.

**BAZ**

He hugs me in the seat until I stop shivering and it’s nice and warm. I look at the rain hitting the bus window. I really don’t want to play football today.

We arrive at school and today it’s different from yesterday: He doesn’t leave to meet his friends as soon as we enter the class, but he stays with me, talking, until class begins and he runs to his seat, high-fiving Penelope on his way.

“What were you talking about?” She asks. I don’t get to hear the answer.

The class begins.

He returns during recess, I ask him to let me treat him. He refuses.

“I did it for the previous ones,” I argue. He seems to understand it that way. As a game, a set of rules. We’re not really dating, just playing boyfriends. We head to a quieter place, almost at the forest behind the school.

“To be completely honest, I was surprised the day before yesterday. I thought you would already have a girlfriend.”

Simon shrugs. He’s standing in front of me but he looks away. I might have hit a delicate issue.

**SIMON**

I was sort of expecting that question. The girl I was dating, Philippa, turned me down last Friday. Because I was too clumsy, she said. Because I was not really what I looked. She somehow thought that the whole awesome fencer boy is all there is to it. Same happened to Agatha, it’s always the same story.

This whole fake-dating thing is a good distraction from that. I don’t have to worry about disappointing Baz because we’ll breakup after that anyways. I don’t tell him that. I’m enjoying myself too much to risk shortening the week. I shrug instead.

“We wanted different things.”

He smiles and it’s an elegant smile, if such a thing is possible. It’s like his smile invoked the wind, because it’s blowing again.

And he’s trembling again.

I hug him again, and he snuggles in my arms. His skin is cold too.

“You could be a vampire,” I say.

“Maybe in an alternate universe,” he answers with a smirk. And he’s so close I feel his breath. At least that’s warm.

I asked Agatha yesterday. She dated Baz, almost right after breaking up with me. So I used her as a subject of investigation. Sort of revenge. She told me it really felt like dating, since he was nice and held her hand all the time and treated her and was so gentle. However, he never kissed her, nor did anything further. She told me other girls had tried and he had never really refused, but that was not how he did it. I guess it’s part of the rules.

He hasn’t held my hand yet.

I close my eyes nevertheless.

**BAZ**

He closes his eyes.

I’ve never kissed anyone before. I never felt like kissing them.

I feel like kissing Simon.

I do.

He looks at me with wide eyes, as if it were not him the one who closed his eyes.

“We should return. Class is about to start.”

“Okay,” he says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did enjoy this chapter, specially the end. I feel like I'm getting better at writing this sort of thing, if not in terms of quality, at least I feel more and more comfortable with them.


	24. Musicians

**SIMON**

Baz didn’t come by bus today. I was waiting for him. Because I’m cold again and I have no one to talk to. Because I’m cold again and I have no one to talk to. I don’t… I don’t miss him, though. We are not like that.

At class, I understand why. I forgot tomorrow is the Christmas festival. Baz has an instrument case besides him, a violin I think, and he’s surrounded by our class.

I sit next to Penny silently.

“Morning, Simon.”

“Morning,” I say.

“Are you okay? You look annoyed.”

I force a smile. I’m not sulking. I can’t be sulking. That would mean jealousy and I’m not jealous, because that would mean we are like that and we are not.

**BAZ**

He came in, did not even wave and just sat with Bunce. I guess that’s proof of two things: That I messed up yesterday with the kiss and that he does not really take this seriously. That’s probably for the best. It would be a problem if after all the effort I have been making to fix my disastrous outing to my family as bisexual I fell for a man and went out with him on the long term.

So I don’t go to him, despite wanting to. Despite wondering why he looks so sad. Despite wanting to kiss him again, a good morning kiss.

During the recess we don’t talk, either.I’m called by the teacher for some sound proof thing and I disappear with my violin until the next class has already started.

**SIMON**

I don’t have a place in the representation. My job was to help paint the scenery for some plays of the younger kids and we finished that last week, so when classes are over I’m allowed to go home.

I go to the assembly hall instead and sit down in the last row.

There is a girl singing and a boy playing piano. Baz is nowhere to be seen, but I can’t peek the backstage from here.

I wait, listen to the music and the rehearsal and the teachers moving around, giving instructions about sound and visibility until Baz appears at the stage, violin in hand. When he starts playing, the room falls silent. He’s playing with his eyes closed. I didn’t even know he played violin but it sounds good, a fun piece. You could dance to it. And he looks steady and sure, now all the other kids look like they all did not know how to do their parts.

When it’s over, he returns to the backstage. I stay seated, waiting for nothing really.

He sits next to me after a while.

“Hi,” he whispers. “I was not expecting you would come.”

I shrug.

“Do you want to see anyone else?”

He shakes his head, so I stand up.

“Let’s go.”


	25. Floral

**SIMON**

I’m not good at this. At all.

We had another date yesterday. We did not kiss. It was… Friendly. Everything was friendly about it. It made me a little frustrated in and a little sad. It shouldn’t, but still.

So I’ll try something different today. Because today it’s Friday and Fridays are different and because we have only three more days and if it’s not today, I’ll lose my chance.

We have no class today. It’s the last day before Christmas break so we spend it singing in class, preparing for the afternoon plays and all those things we do every year last day of class. Baz is focused on the violin, which makes things easy for me.

We all gather in the assembly hall, with many parents of students and the teachers. The little kids do their play and then the music begins. Baz is almost the last one, and definitely the best. He plays only one of the songs he prepared, the jolly, Christmas-y one. I liked the other one better.

When it is over, the applause is huge. He bows and disappears behind the curtain, all serious, not even the hint of a smile. I wait for him, sitting still at the back row as the room becomes gradually empty.

Eventually, I’m alone. I wonder if he will come.

It takes him long, but he finally appears, still in his shirt and suit pants, and he looks even more handsome when he’s close than he did back on the stage, if possible.

“You did great,” I say. I offer him the rose I was holding, a red one.

**BAZ**

I wonder if Simon cares about the meaning of flowers, even one as classical as this one.

**SIMON**

I spent half the evening yesterday researching about the meaning of the flowers.

I hope he does not realize. But also, I really hope he does.

I look around to make sure no one is around, and then I stand up and kiss him.

He pulls away.

“Not here,” he whispers.

“It’s just…” I say.  _ A kiss _ . But it’s not. I have been planning —no, wanting— this since yesterday.

I follow him outside, to our empty class, and he lets me kiss him, for a long time. His lips are as cold as last time, and so is all of his skin. I hug him around the waist and he gasps a little but does not stop me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished my exams today, I posted it without rereading and I don't know if it's worthy or not, but I'm sleepy and dizzy and I have a delayed prompt, so please be merciful.


	26. Apocalypse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yet another piece for the Seven Days AU

**BAZ**

It’s Saturday, and I spend the morning before my soccer match doing homework.

I cannot focus.

It was not supposed to be like this, I was supposed to make things right. I was supposed to fix myself, find a girl and make my best to have my father forget my coming out.

But I fell in love with a boy.

A boy who will break up with me tomorrow and then I will be left with a broken heart and having to restart everything. I might ask to change schools again. I might just go back to the closet, tell my parents it was just a teenager burst and I’m actually heterosexual. That would work.

Probably.

For a while.

* * *

We win the match. Not thanks to me, though. I almost don’t play and the time I am on the field I’m so distracted I can hardly play, too busy looking at the bleachers to check if Simon came.

He doesn’t.

I didn’t ask him, I just mentioned it and really hoped he would take the hint. I guess he didn’t.

I leave the field, take a quick shower and get out as soon as I can, still unable to drop the disappointment.

He’s waiting for me at the door.

Leaning against the door, looking around as if he were lost, his clothes messy and unmatched. When he sees me, he smiles and his eyes become bright.

“Good afternoon! I got lost coming here.”

_ Oh. _

“Afternoon. We won.”

He hugs me, as a greet and as a congratulation.

“I’m glad!”

I don’t hug back.

“Should we go somewhere?”

I shrug, still lost in my thoughts.

He pulls me around the whole date. We go get hot chocolate and then to the cinema and get hamburgers for dinner, and I keep wondering if he will break up with me right now or will wait until tomorrow.

“Are you okay?”

I nod, but I cannot bring myself to smile. All of a sudden I’m wondering if his care is genuine or a part of this whole game we are playing.

“If we are not enjoying this together, it’s pointless,” he says.

“I’m fine.” I take his hand and squeeze it. “I’m just a little tired.”

His smile fades.

“Then let’s just go home for the day.”

I nod but it feels like the end.

“Let’s meet tomorrow,” I say. And it sounds almost as desperate as I actually am.

He nods.

“Let’s meet here.”

He hugs me again, and kisses me, and I feel bad because I’m like a corpse, not making a move as he waves one last time before leaving.


	27. Christmas Celebration

**BAZ**

Simon is sulking as he looks outside the window. I’m in the kitchen, cooking… well, cooking something. I’m not sure what it is, it has rice and lentils and bacon.

“Snow, dinner is ready!”

He sits at the table and munches his dinner, still angry.

“Are you going to ignore me because you’re angry with the weather?”

Simon shakes his head.

“I’m not ignoring you. And this is surprisingly good.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“Surprisingly?”

Simon nods, and I don’t push. He finishes eating in no time, as always.

“And what do you want to do now?” He asks.

We were supposed to be dining in a fancy restaurant in London with my family, not trapped by the snow in my parents’ house, alone.

“Nothing.”

“Do nothing after doing the dishes if you want,” I say, and I head to the living room. I choose the biggest sofa and lounge there, throwing a blanket over myself. Simon takes his time, and I hear dangerously loud noises coming from the kitchen. I don’t move.

Simon appears and sits next to my feet.

“What do you want to do the rest of the evening?”

I shrug. “Nothing. Come here.”

He does. I throw the blanket over him too and kiss his jaw gently.

“I don’t like Christmas, anyways.” Simon doesn’t ask why. I’ve told him dozens of times before. My Dad’s family doesn’t like each other.

So this is way better: him, me, a coach and a whole night of doing nothing. I’d rather spend the Christmas night finding out if there is any place or any way that I have not kissed Simon yet.

I kiss him and he sulks, so I keep kissing. I kiss his jaw, nibble his neck. He wants to step back and sulk in silence but there’s no space for that, so he has to stay still and I can keep kissing. His cheeks, every single mole. His lips. I like kissing them when he’s like this because I can feel them turning to a smile. He tries to hide it at first, but he can’t. And eventually the smile spreads and I win this battle, just like now, as Simon giggles with the cold touch of my fingertips on his stomach and the pendulum clock (Simon is still not over the fact that we have a pendulum clock) strikes midnight.

“Merry Christmas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/25th of December!!!! This is sort of my Christmas present, I hope you enjoyed some domestic fluff ^^


	28. Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final day of the Seven Days AU

**SIMON**

I wake up with a smile, because I have a date today but it fades almost immediately, because it will be the last one.

Baz is already waiting when I arrive. He looks worried, he’s frowning but as soon as he looks at me, he draws a smile from somewhere. I like it when he does that. It makes me feel special.

“We have the whole day today.” He says. I guess he won’t break up immediately. I’ll try to take as much as I can then. 

I hold his hand.

“Let’s take a walk.”

We walk around the whole morning. We visit some shops, eat lunch, lay down at the park (we don’t last too long there because it’s cold) and by the time I realize, it’s already six in the evening. We are at a viewpoint, taking in the sight of the city and the question burns in my tongue, so I ask.

“How long is this going to last?”

Baz turns to look at me.

“How long do you want it to?”

I shrug.

“I don’t make the rules.”

“Me neither,” and it’s a whisper. Just loud enough for me to hear it.

“Then who…?”

**BAZ**

There are no rules, as far as I’m concerned. But I can’t tell him that at this point. I should just get this over with.

**SIMON**

I’m confused. I ask again.

“When will my week be over?”

“Whenever you want.”

_ But I don’t want it to. _

I check my phone. 18:27

“Will half past six be okay?”

He shrugs.

We fall quiet. The clock switches to 18:28, then 18:29 and, after what feels like an eternity, 18:30. I return it to my pocket.

“We are done now,” I say.

“It looks like it.” Baz has returned his attention to the landscape.

“Then, will you go out with me one more week?”

That makes him turn to me. He looks confused and so serious. He might be angry. I might be messing up every possibility I have to keep a relationship of any kind with him after this.

I had to try nevertheless.

“You don’t mean it,” he says. I shake my head. There’s only one thing I can think about right now. I take a step front and kiss him.

“Go out with me,” I say again. “Not for a week, but for as long as needed. Forever even.”

He seems to believe me now, because when I try again, he returns the kiss.

**BAZ**

I guess I have to assume it, that I'm in love and it is going to last. I don't have to think about my family, I can just enjoy this for a short while. I can afford this little happiness and figure out the rest later.

So I kiss back, with all I have.

"Yes."


	29. Time Travel

**SIMON**

I wake up still dizzy from the spell. When Penny told me she had figured out time spells, it did not even occur to me that this is what she meant, yet here I am, not sure where and not sure when.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but when Penny told me to think of  _ where _ I wanted to be, I could only think of one name.

_ Baz. _

This is the Pitch mansion, but it looks different. Future-ish. Baz is sitting in front of a desk, writing something. Penny told me they could not see me, I would not alter time, so I approach him without a second thought. He looks older, but not so older. Twenty-more, maybe thirty. He’s dressed in clothes I don’t recognize and he is smiling, a melancholic smile. There is a screen in front of him, and try to look at the time before anything else. 2120. Penny threw me 100 years into the future.

Where Baz is alive. And I…

Am not. Probably. Judging by Baz’s expression and what’s in the screen, a series of pictures where I appear. I look younger in some of them, way older in some others. 

So this is how it goes.

The spell starts to fade, Baz becomes blurry. I brush his cheek, feeling nothing. He turns towards me as I disappear, but I don’t think he saw me. He looks sad, determined, as handsome as always.

I’m back to our flat, in front of Penny.

“So?” She asks. “What did you see?”

I start crying.


	30. Undercover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A page of Baz's diary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second part to a Royalty AU you can find here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12822066/chapters/29815617
> 
> But long story short: Simon is king, Agatha is his convenience married queen and Baz is his right hand man.

_ Yesterday, I brought Snow to the market. He insisted he wanted to see the city as it is, not as the nobility insists on saying it is. So I dyed his hair black, dressed him in common clothes and took him for a walk. He insisted on asking Agatha to come, but she said no. _

_ I don’t think I’ve ever seen him enjoy himself so much, and suffer so much. The market itself was fine. We walked around. He was looking at everything in awe, as if every little detail was wort his attention. He was genuinely interested in every product, every decoration, every person around. It was beautiful and moving, it made me want to take him out more often because he looked so relaxed and happy and his laugh was contagious. _

_ But he also saw the misery we’re trying to put an end to. I believe that was a first too, since everyone has always been so protective with him. He looked devastated, and it broke my heart, watching him realize for the first time the real situation here. But still, it was necessary, and it comes late in my opinion. That realization is necessary for the Kingdom. _

_ As we returned, he asked me to sleep next to him again, and talked for hours about what we had seen, what we should do. _

_ I truly believe from today on, we have a better king. _

**Author's Note:**

> wow  
> It's over
> 
> Did you enjoy it? I really hope you did, even if just a little, even if just some prompts. Please tell me your favourite piece in the comments and why!!
> 
> Side note: (and excuse the shameless self-promotion). From now on, I want to focus on a different project, which will be published in a while on Wattpad due to its nature. You can find me on twitter (@blacktebluepens) and wattpad or tumblr (@black-tea-blue-pens) in case you're interested in that.


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